How often were Kings mere puppets of their counselors/financiers?

>>1440151
Dont know, but you should do some reading on the Venetian and Genoese banking families, often known as Europes "Black Nobility". The Guelphes are one such dynasty. These families bankrolled the Amsterdam Central Bank, Dutch East India Company and made Britain into the financial merchant banking powerhouse that became the "British" Empire. Rothschilds too.